1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of compression technology. It concerns a method of compressing a gas and a compression apparatus for carrying out the method.
2. Discussion of Background
In the prior art (see, for example, the publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,429) it has already variously been proposed to compress a flowing gaseous medium by first of all accelerating it to supersonic velocity in a suitable device (compression tube) and then decelerating it again with the generation of shock waves and subsequent increase in pressure. The heat produced during the compression may be dissipated, for example, by spraying water into the corresponding tube section. A disadvantage with this type of compression is that the sonic velocity of the gaseous medium (e.g. air) is generally relatively high and that some outlay is therefore required in order to bring the gas flow to supersonic velocity.